History of Working Time

The history of European working time laws 1784-2015

Some of the key events that have shaped the development of working time measures in Europe:

Date

Event

1784

Ten-hour day proposed at Manchester Quarter Sessions (England)

1802

First Factory Act (Health and Morals of Apprentices)

1815

Foundation in England of the ‘Ten Hours Movement’.

1818

Robert Owen presented a petition to the five leading European powers meeting at the congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. The document asked for the establishment of working hours restrictions throughout Europe in order to stop unfair competition. His submission was rejected as ‘lunatic’.

1819, 1825

British Factory Acts (not enforced)

1831, 1833

British Factory Act : Under 21s not allowed to work at night in cotton mills. Under 18s not allowed to work longer than 12 hours (9 hours on Saturday). Robert Owen begins to experiment with a co-operative system based on labour working time tokens.

1843

Ten-hour Day Act (normal working day)

1840

First strike for an eight-hour day – Wellington, New Zealand.

1841

French law limiting the hours worked by children in mines (not applied in practice).

1842

The first child labour law introduced in the USA. This regulated working hours in Massachusetts.

1844

British Factory Act: maximum working day of 12 hours for adults and 6.5 hours for children.

1847

Ten Hour Act

1850

British Factory Act: Limits for women and children introduced. Employment permissible between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm (later in winter) on weekdays and until 2.00 pm on Saturdays.

1868

US congress passed a law limiting daily working time to eight hours for federal employees.

1874

British Factory Act: Reduction of half an hour each day for textile workers.

1890

Berlin conference on working time. Resolutions on child labour, women and children in mining, and night work.

1897

‘Eight-hour day’ strike by engineers

1899

Eight-hour day for all government workers – Puerto Rico.

1900

Foundation of the International Association for Labour.

1905

Berne Convention on night work for women

1911

Swiss federal code of obligations sets certain entitlements and safeguards for holidays and other time off work.

1913

Berne Convention (draft) on night work for children

1916

Eight Hours Act – New South Wales, Australia.

1917

New revolutionary government in Russia orders universal eight-hour day.

1919

Spain introduces national eight-hour day law.

1919

ILO established as part of Paris Peace Conference. First meeting in Washington USA. Convention 1 agreed a maximum 8 hour day and maximum weekly hours of 48. ILO eventually became part of The UN.

1921

ILO Convention 14: weekly rest breaks in industry

1930

ILO Convention 30: hours of work in commerce and offices

1935

ILO Convention 47: 40-hour week

1936

French laws introduced by labour minister Jean-Baptiste Lebas provided two-weeks paid vacation each year and a 40-hour week.

1938

US Fair Labor Standards Act introduces a standard workweek of 40 hours and pay at time and a half for overtime hours. The Act does not apply to all employees.

1948

ILO Convention 89: night work for women (revised Convention 4)

1949

Public holidays in Italy first listed in Law 260/1949.

1970

ILO Convention 132: holidays with pay (revised)

1975

EC Council Recommendation on the 40-hour maximum working week and 4 weeks paid holiday. (75/457/EEC)

1976

Finland introduces seamens’ working hours Act

1979

ILO Convention 153: hours of work and rest periods in road transport

1985

Common EC statutory limits for heavy goods vehicle and public service vehicle drivers

1993 (Nov 23rd)

EC Directive on working time (93/104/EC). 48-hour week limitation (averaged), but with voluntary opt out by employees in some member states.

1994 (Jun 22nd)

EC Directive on the protection of young people at work (94/33/EC). 40-hour week limitation on 16/17 year old adolescents who are not in full time education.

1996

ILO Convention 180: seafarers’ hours of work and the manning of ships.

1996 (Jun 3rd)

EC Directive on parental leave requirements

1997

EC Directive on part-time work

1998

Revised EC Regulation on working and rest time (transport)

1999

EC Directive on seafarers’ hours of work

2000

EC Directive on working time in civil aviation

2000

Loi Aubry becomes mandatory in France. This sets a maximum normal working week of 35 hours in all companies employing over 20 people. The Aubry II that was passed in 2000 extended the 35-hour week to employees in small companies and to some managers (cadres).

2000

SIMAP ruling by the European Court of Justice. All hours spent in residence and on call must count as working time.

2001

BECTU ruling by the European Court of Justice. This confirmed as unlawful any qualifying period before a new employee could build up entitlements for statutory paid annual leave.

2002

EC directive on mobile road transport activities

2002

Extension of EC working time restrictions (offshore workers and doctors in training)

2003

New consolidated Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC).

2003

Jaeger ruling by the European Court of Justice. If an employee is required to be present at the workplace, or otherwise at the disposal of their employer for a period between two shifts then the rest period must be classified as working time.

2007

French National assembly passes bill that promotes overtime working.

2015

European Court of Justice Decision concerning the working time of mobile workers with no fixed workplace.